Corn-sheller



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 (No Model.)

H. A. ADAMS.

GORN SHELLER.

No. 390,831. Patented 001:. 9,1888.

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H. A. ADAMS.

GORN SHELLER'.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct. 9, 1888.

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HENRY A. ADAMS, OF SANDWICH, ILLINOIS.

CORN-SHELLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,831, dated October9, II 888.

Application filed July 0, 1887. Serial No. 243.860.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sandwich, in the county of De Kalb and State of Illinois,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Corn-Shellers,which is fully set forth in the following specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevationof a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a sectional view of thesame, taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional view of thesame, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a detail plan view of thedrum which actuates the separator; Fig. 5, a detail sectional view ofthe same, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. at; Fig.6, a detail plan view ofthe front portion of the separator with the chain removed; Fig 7, adetail sectional View of the same, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 6; Fig.8, a detail view of one of the vibrating rods of the separator detached,and Fig. 9 a detail plan view of a portion of the separator.

Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are on the same scale. The remaining figures are onthe same scale with respect to each other, buton an enlarged scale withrespect to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

My invention relates to corn shellers, and more particularly to thatclass in which the ears of corn are fed cndwise into and through theshelling devices, a machine of this class being shown in Letters PatentNo. 132,128, granted to me October 15, 1872.

My present invention has for its object to provide an efficientseparating device for separating the corn from the silk, dust, andfragmentary portions of the cobs.

My invention further has for its object to improve the machine invarious details of construction, as will be hereinafter more fullypointed out.

I will now proceed to describe a construction in which I havepractically carried out my invention in one form, and will thenparticularly point out in the claims those features which I deem to benew and desire to protect by Letters Patent.

In the drawings, A represents the frame of the machine containing theshelling devices, which may be of any approved construction,

(No model.)

the form shown being well known and consist- .ing of the flat runner A,mounted on the main shaft a, and the bevel-runners B, mounted on theshaft 1). The usual rag-irons, G, are employed in conjunction with theserunners, and the usual shoes, D, are used to guide the eobs to theelevator D, by means of which they are discharged from the machine.

E represents the beater, which operates, as in my Letters Patenthereinbefore referred to, to force the ears of corn downward into theshelling devices. It embodies, however, in its construction certainfeatures of novelty; but they will not be particularly described here,as they do not constitute a part of the present invention.

The feed-chains F are of any approved construction, and are arranged atthe bottom of a horizontal hopper or feed receptacle, F, along whichthey serve to carry the ears of corn to, the beater E. This latter isarranged, as-

shown, slightly below the feed-chains, so that the ears are delivereddownward to the same. I-Ieretofore it has been found that during theoperation of the machine the ears would tend to clog at the point wherethey are delivered by the feed-chains to the beater, forming what isknown as a bridge, which prevents the cars from entering the machine. Ithas therefore been necessary for an attendant to station himself at thispoint in order to release the ears by breaking the bridge. In order toovercome this difficulty and dispense with the services of thisattendant, I employ a bridgebreaking device consisting of a vibratingarm, G. This arm is arranged, as shown, between the feed-chains F, beingshown as mounted in the present instance on the shaft f of the sprocketwheels f, by means of which the feed chains are driven. When at rest,the arm G forms simply a partition or division between the two sides ofthe machine; but once during each revolution of the beater it is thrownquickly forward, so that if a bridge is formed at this point it will bebroken by the vibrating arm and the ears will be thrown back intoposition to properly enter the machine. By the employment of thisbridge-breaking device I am enabled not only to dispense with theservices of an attendant for this purpose, but I am also enabled toemploy a horizontal hopper in place of the inclined elevator, which ithas heretofore been deemed necessary to employ in order to preventclogging at this point.

The corn, after being shelled, passes downward to the separator, beingguided thereto by means of the incline II, and carrying along with itthe silk, dust, and small fragments of broken cob which have managed topass through the shelling devices. This separator consists of an endlesschain, I, composed of transverse rods, the construction of this form ofchain being well-known and needingno detailed description here. At itsouter or rear end the chain I passes orer sprocket-drum I, by means ofwhich it is actuated, and at its inner end it passes over a curved guideconsisting of two plates, J, one at each side of the machine, and eachprovided with a vertical flange, j, on the inner edge of the plate toretain the chain in position thereon. The guide-plates J are bolted tothe sides of the frame A, and are connected by a cross-bar, J, which ispreferably cast in one piece with the said guide-plates, as shown,although it may of course be made separate therefroin. The chain Ipasses over a body composed of a series of vibrating rods, K, arrangedimmediately underneath the upper portion of the said chain and extendingin the direction of the movement thereof. The rods K are pivoted at oneend to the cross-bar J, which is provided with a series of apertures, j,to receive the downwardly-bent ends of the rods K for this purpose. Thefree ends of the rods K rest in grooves z in the drum 1, the saidgrooves being cam grooves provided with de pressed portions t", whichserve to impart to the rods K a vibrating motion. This vibrating motionmay be either vertical or horizontal, as desired.

Underneath the under portion of the chain I is arranged a plate ortable, L, which extends from the rear of the said chain forward to thedischarge-spout M. A clear space, Z, is left between this table and thechain, and a similar space, Z, extends between the bottom of the casingA and the said table.

N represents a blast-fan, which is arranged in front of the separator Iand sends a blast of air directly along the same, both above and below.

The operation of this portion of the machine is as follows: The corn,along with the silk, dust, and fragments of the cobs, falls upon thechain I and is carried to the rear, the corn itself passing through thechain and between the vibrating rods, which by their action facilitatethe passage of the grain. A portion of the grain will pass directlydownward to the discharge'spout M, while another portion will be carriedso far to the rear as to fall upon the plate or table L; but this latterportion will of course be carried forward to the diseharge'spout by theforward motion of the under portion of the chain. The fragments of thecobs and the other larger impurities will be carried off by the chain Iand discharged from the machine separately, while the silk. dust, andlighter impurities will be blown out of the machine at the same point bythe blastfan M. The grain is subject to the action of the fan during thewhole of its passage through the separator and from the separator to thedischarge-spout, the cleaning-blast passing through the spaces Z and Z,as well as above and through the separator proper. It will thus be seenthat the shelled grain will be discharged in a thoroughly cleanedcondition, the separator operating in an efficient manner to obtain thisresult.

Any form of actuating mechanism may be employed to drive the variousmechanisms hereinbcfore described. In the present in stance I have shownthe main shaft a as provided with a gear, A", which meshes with apinion, B, on the shaft 1). A sprocket-wheel, c mounted on the shaft a,serves to drive the sprocket-chain A", which passes over sprocket-wheelsa and A", the former on the shaft 0 and the latter on the shaft of thesprocketdrum 1. An idler, (this employed to properly guide thesprocket-chain A. The cob-elevator D is driven by means of asprocket-chain, D, from a sprocket-wheel on the shaft I), and thefeed-chains F are driven by a train of gearwheels, F", from thebeater-shaft c. Any other form of driving-gear may be substituted forthat shown.

The general operation of the machine will be readily understood from thepreceding description, and therefore needs no detailed description here.The operation of the particular devices to which my present inventionrelates has been fully pointed out in the preceding description. I havealso shown in the drawings and described in a general way an improvementin the feeding devices which carry the ears of corn into the sheller;but these feeding devices constitute no part of my present invention,and will be made the subject-matter of another application for patout.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the principle of my invention. For instance, the machine shown inthe present instance is what is known as a two-holed sheller, but it isobvious that my invention is not limited to this particular descriptionof machine. Various modifications will readily suggest themselves, aud Itherefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly tothe precise details hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. Ina corn'sheller, a separator consisting of an endless chain composedof transverse rods, in combination with a series of rods secured at oneend and free to vibrate at the other end, arranged longitudinally ofthesaid chain beneath the upper portion and extending substantially thelength thereof, and a device for LII vibrating the free ends of saidrods, as and for l their other ends resting unsecured in the camthepurposes specified.

2. In a corn-sheller, the endless separatorchain I, in combination withthe drum 1, provided with cam-grooves, and the vibrating rods K,arranged within the chain and piv oted at one end to a suitable supportat one end of the separator, and at their other free ends resting in thecam-grooves of the said drum at the other end of the separator,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In a corn sheller, the endless separatorchain I, in combination withits actuatingdrum 1, provided with cam-grooves, the transverse bar J,provided with apertures j, and the vibrating rods K, having at one enddown ward bends to enter the aperturesj, and at grooves of the drum,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. In a corn-sheller, the combination, with the endless chain I, of theactuating-drum I, provided with cam-grooves, the curved plates J, havingflanges j on their inner edges, the transverse bar J having apertures j,and the vibrating rods K, having their forward ends bent downward toenter the apertures j, and their free rear ends resting in thecam-grooves of the drum 1, substantially as and for the purposesspecified.

HENRY A. ADAMS.

Witnesses:

S. B. STINsoN, A. T. VAN SooY.

